Search Results (3)

The World Health Organization recognizes noma as a global health problem and has suggested prioritizing research into this disease. A bibliographic search of original articles published in the Web of Science database up to 2022 was performed. A bibliometric analysis was carried out with the bibliometrix package in R and VOSviewer. We identified 251 articles published in 130 journals. The first publication was in 1975, the highest number of publications was in 2003, and the average number of citations per document was 12.59. The author with the highest number of publications was Enwonwu CO, and the Noma Children’s Hospital had the highest number of articles on this topic. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery was the journal with the most publications, and the study by Petersen PE was the most cited. The country of corresponding authors that had the most publications and the most significant number of total citations was the United States. “Children” and “Reconstruction” were the most used keywords. In conclusion, there are few publications on noma worldwide, confirming the neglected status of this disease. Urgent actions are needed to increase evidence in regard to the epidemiology of noma and public health interventions to mitigate the ravages of this disease. Full article

The scientific literature on noma (Cancrum Oris) has clearly increased in recent decades, but there seems to have been limited analysis of issues around the psycho-social impacts of this disease. Even when these issues have been addressed, the focus has tended to be on patient experiences, whereas the community dimension of the disease and the role of healthcare professionals and community leaders in mitigating these impacts remain largely unexplored. A study in the form of semi-directed interviews with 20 noma survivors and 10 healthcare professionals and community leaders was conducted between January and March 2021 in Burkina Faso with the aim of describing the experiences of noma survivors, generating knowledge about living with the burden of the disease and understanding the attitudes of community leaders towards the disease. The results reveal that noma is a disease that affects economically vulnerable populations and leads to extreme household poverty. As far as treatment is concerned, patients tend to turn to practitioners of both traditional and modern medicine. Within communities, noma survivors face discrimination and stigma. The study highlighted a lack of information and knowledge about noma. However, surgical operations lead to patient satisfaction and these remain one of the coping strategies used to tackle the stigma and discrimination. The recommendations set out in this article are aimed firstly at stepping up research into the psycho-social impacts of noma, and secondly at considering these impacts in regional programmes and national plans to combat the disease. Full article

Background: Noma can be a lethal disease and causes disfigurement in young children in low-resource countries, particularly in Africa. In these settings, 80% of the population mainly consult traditional healers for healthcare problems. Our study aimed to describe the sociodemographic characteristics of traditional healers and to assess their knowledge of noma. Methods: We conducted a survey among traditional healers in three Malian regions from May 2015 to January 2016 and collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, professional activity, knowledge, and experience of noma and collaboration with modern medicine. Results: Among 770 traditional healers invited to participate, 732 responded (95%) (mean age, 54.5 years). Most were illiterate (66.3%), which was associated with older age (p < 0.001). Although they treated all types of disease, only 10.5% had some knowledge of noma, with regional differences (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Noma is poorly known among traditional healers, especially in remote areas. Our findings suggest a lack of interest among young people for traditional medicine, implying an imminent decrease of healers, and thus the need for national health systems to strengthen and promote access to modern health care. Training programmes to improve the early diagnosis referral of noma patients should include all types of primary health workers. Full article